Succession & Exit Planning for Law Firms

How can we help?

Many firms have partners who are coming up to retirement. Unfortunately, many firms also have no effective plan to deal with succession, retirement pay-out or client retention after this happens.

No one solution will fit all but having a plan to deal with this when it happens is critical.

Here at Symphony Legal we have helped to develop these plans and implement the changes required to make it happen. The earlier your firm tackle this the better. Don’t leave it until it is too late.

We can assist in the following ways:-

Create a clear strategic plan for the whole firm

Consider whether your firm’s structure is appropriate to deal with this

Review of partnership agreements – are they up to date and relevant?

Attracting new partners / directors

Structuring a new partner / director buy-in

Determine how the firm will pay out a partner’s capital account

Planning options for the future viability of a firm following partner retirement

Depending on what works for you we can agree a monthly retainer or quote for a one off project.

What to do next

If you are not already a member then JOIN NOW and we will arrange for you to have your initial member review. From here we will agree what further consultancy support would be suitable for your firm and then provide you with a proposal and quote based on these discussions.

If you would like to talk to someone before joining, or are already a member of Symphony Legal and are looking for additional support, then complete the form below or contact Kayleigh Maggs (enquiries@symphonylegal.com) who would be happy to talk through options with you.

Example Project

A five partner practice with 3 partners over the age of 65, had failed to plan for the partners exit and were looking to find a solution to this problem. The remaining partners were 38 and 45 and were concerned about how they could afford to pay out the three partners’ capital account.

The business was making nominal profits on a 1.3 million turnover with an ageing client base. With the three exiting partners there was an insufficient fund to pay out the capital and once retired, insufficient turnover for the business to survive.

We were able to negotiate a sale of the practice that enabled the two remaining partners to remain. The acquirer protected the WIP and Debtor position and with our help integrated the two firms with minimum fuss.

The bulk of the lockup was sufficient to clear the capital accounts and the acquirer dealt with the run off cover under their own policy.

Example 1

A five partner practice with 3 partners over the age of 65, had failed to plan for the partners exit and were looking to find a solution to this problem. The remaining partners were 38 and 45 and were concerned about how they could afford to pay out the three partners’ capital account.

The business was making nominal profits on a 1.3 million turnover with an ageing client base. With the three exiting partners there was an insufficient fund to pay out the capital and once retired, insufficient turnover for the business to survive.

We were able to negotiate a sale of the practice that enabled the two remaining partners to remain. The acquirer protected the WIP and Debtor position and with our help integrated the two firms with minimum fuss.

The bulk of the lockup was sufficient to clear the capital accounts and the acquirer dealt with the run off cover under their own policy.